


You're on my mind

by like



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Mind Reading, POV Alternating, Rating May Change, everybody's edgy bitch. let's get you some fruit, hanzo's edgy, mccree's edgy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-29 02:12:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18216806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/like/pseuds/like
Summary: "To put it simply, I’m a mind reader. Always have been. Still not sure where or how I got this power, but I ain’t gon’ question that. Can’t quite control it, but I learned how to handle it. Haven’t met anyone whose thoughts I couldn’t hear before. Well, until I tried capturing you and realized for the first time in my life, I couldn’t hear if someone’s behind me.”





	You're on my mind

**Author's Note:**

> howdy y'all! i've had this idea for awhile now, but never was in the mood to write hehe. i hope you like it! c:  
> future chapters will hopefully be longer :0  
> english aint my first language so pls forgive me for any errors! uwu  
> enjoy!!

Ever since Jesse can remember, the thoughts of others have followed him.

It was stressful at first; he heard things he didn’t want to hear, or didn’t understand, and when he told his mother what he heard, she paled.

He figured it out when he was 8. He was talking to his older brother, and realized he hears the build up for what Mitch was about to say.

“Did’ja take the last cookie?”

_I should lie to him, he’ll throw a tantrum if i say yes._ “No.”

Jesse stared at him. “Are you lying to me?”

_How did he know?_ “No…”

“I know because I can hear you!”

_What?_ “What? What do you mean?”

“I heard you saying you should lie to me,” Jesse frowned, “you said I’ll throw a tantrum!”

He couldn’t quite decipher what he heard now. It was a mess, a jumble of quick words and topic changes he simply didn’t understand. “I didn’t say any of that! I only- I only thought that.”

It was that moment that Jesse realized he could read minds. Well, not on purpose. He just heard people’s thoughts if they were close enough.

It helped him sometimes. He could tell if someone was sneaking up behind him, no matter how quiet their steps were. He could figure out the plan and the lies of a bad guy tied in the interrogation room. He could predict his enemy’s movements in battle.

He could hear the last thoughts of someone he just killed.

It took practice, to not answer people’s thoughts. He knew it could easily freak them out, so he had to listen carefully if the words he’s hearing are spoken or thought. Luckily, after living with that ability your whole life, you learn that thoughts are way messier than what ends up being said.

He told Gabe about his ability. At first, he laughed in his face, saying “you’re way too drunk, kid” (he was). He tried telling him again, but the middle of a mission was probably a bad time to explain how he figured out the location of their target. He ended up officially explaining it all and proving it the day after. After that, he was vocal about using it to his advantage, and eventually Jack and Angela learned about it too.  

Jesse’s ability helped him when Genji joined Blackwatch. He was refusing to talk at first, so Jesse being able to read his mind made things easier when the team needed to figure out what Genji needed.

Unfortunately, most of Genji’s thoughts were in Japanese. Jesse tried his best to learn enough to figure things out, and to not send Genji sad looks every time he could hear how much he was suffering.

Genji wasn’t the only one. Jesse hated hearing how tired Angela was, how worried Ana was, how angry Jack was. He hated how he couldn’t help any of them.

He heard Reyes’ thoughts changing from friendly or tactical to aggressive or violent. He knew something was up, but he was too late to figure out what.

After Overwatch disbanded, he tried to stay alone as much as he could. Less people to love, less pain you feel. Never staying in one place for too long. Even hearing the occasional worry of a motel cleaning lady thinking about her kids sometimes felt like too much. He tried to force himself to go numb to others’ thoughts. It almost worked.

The recall was a surprise. He almost wanted to say yes, but he knew the price of coming back - their thoughts and their pain will be his again, and he wasn’t ready for that.

He’d settle on bounty hunting for now.

 

\-----

 

Someone has been following him.

He could hear them talking. Why would someone talk while trying to sneak up on you? Let alone fully describe their plan?

He heard the same voice trailing after him after every corner he took. He heard “where’d he go?” after he climbed a wall in a dark alley. He heard that voice again when he tried hiding.

He thought about killing them where they stood - it would’ve been easy, really - but there was something odd about their presence, and his curiosity got the best of him.

He eventually got out of his hiding spot, bow and arrow ready to fire in case the person would think they got the upper hand in this situation.

“Why have you been following me?” Hanzo’s voice seemed to startle them. They turned around fast but their smirk seemed calm.

Hanzo finally managed to get a good look at them. It was… a cowboy.

He heard that voice again, but the cowboy’s lips didn’t move. “ _How did- I didn’t hear anything? Does he just not think? What the-_ ”

Eventually, the voice went beyond said lips. “And here I thought I was being sneaky. Should’ve known it wouldn’t work on you top notch assassin.”

No movement again. “ _He’s way hotter than the picture Finch gave me._ ”

“Excuse me?” Hanzo frowned. He was still trying to figure out what was going on and how he managed to hear… whatever this was.

The cowboy extended his hand as if to offer a shake. “Allow me to introduce myself- _What fake name should I give?_ Jake McNamara. To be completely honest with you, I’m-”

“You just gave me a fake name. I already know you’re not completely honest.” Hanzo raised his bow, just to remind the other man of the very much still existing threat.

The cowboy frowned. “ _How the hell did he know that?_ You’re right, sorry ‘bout that. _Do I try a different name? Why can’t I read his-_ The name’s Jesse McCree.”

“Why can’t you read my what? And how are you speaking without moving your mouth?”

“ _What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck-_ ” it all sounded very messy at this point, words going over words, volumes changing, there was some background music? “Okay, tell me if you hear the next thing I… say. _It’s high noon_.”

“It’s… high noon? What does that even mean? It’s the middle of th-”

“ _Holy shit._ That was just the first thing that came to my mind, y’know?” Jesse shrugged.

Hanzo was getting too tired for this. “Can you please just answer what i asked?”

“Oh, yeah! _Alright, this is going to be weird. Never have been in a situation where I told someone anything without hearing their immediate reaction to it._ To put it simply, I’m a mind reader. Always have been. Still not sure where or how I got this power, but I ain’t gon’ question that. Can’t quite control it, but I learned how to handle it. Haven’t met anyone whose thoughts I couldn’t hear before. Well, until I tried capturing you and realized for the first time in my life, I couldn’t hear if someone’s behind me.”

“That doesn’t explain why I could hear your thoughts. At least, I’m assuming these were your thoughts.” Hanzo raised an eyebrow. He slowly started lowering his bow.

“Oh, about that!” Jesse smiled, but his eyes seemed nervous. “I have no idea either. This literally never happened before. I have no idea why you’re special, but it seems like you are. Congratulations.”

Hanzo brought the previously drawn arrow back to its quiver and lowered his bow completely. “Why were you even following me?”

“Well, I’m a bounty hunter, and I heard there’s a pretty nice price over your head.”

Hanzo snorted. “You realize they want me dead, right?”

“Darlin’, I don’t even know who you are. Only got a pic and a general area of where I could find you.” Jesse shrugged, “don’t know none of your backstory, and I don’t know who ‘they’ are.”

“The Shimada clan.”

“ _Oh shit, what did they do this time?_ What about them?”

“What do you mean by ‘this time’?”

“Damn, I better get used to this thing quick. Either way, I asked you first.”

Hanzo rolled his eyes. “They want me dead. I… betrayed them.”

“Sheesh, ‘betrayed’? That’s edgy. What did you do? Did you sell the weapons they sold you to another gang?”

“I took them down from the inside and killed many of the clan’s members.”

Jesse’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “ _Jesus christ, really? Who is that guy?_ How inside are we speaking?”

“Let’s say… from the top.”

“ _Wait a minute…_ ” It seemed like in that moment, something clicked in Jesse’s brain, and for some reason Hanzo couldn’t hear it this time. “You’re not… Hanzo, by any chance, right?”

Hanzo raised an eyebrow, “how did you know?”

Something changed in Jesse’s stare. For some reason, Hanzo couldn’t hear any more words.

Before he realized what’s going on, a gun was pressed to his forehead.

**Author's Note:**

> damn son what a cliffhanger...... dw he'll be fine, they still gotta kiss at some point  
> find me on tumblr over at @mccreal


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